This happened to my ninja a month or two ago after i took the carb apart and put it back together and after installation, any throttle it would take forever for the rpms to chill. I had a vacuum leak, took it apart and re put it back together and no more vacuum leak and rpms went like they're supposed to. I definitely had a gap and something wasn't properly fitted, most likely the air filter side where the carb connects. Make sure your air box and carb doesnt move around or have any wiggle space!
Starting a sitting while bike tips. Charge battery. Drain carburetor float bowls. Drain remaining fuel tank if no stabilizer was used. And properly clean tank, by removing tank and washing out with fresh gasoline. ... if you suspect your gas is dirty. Running your bike and trying to let bad gas work. Is worst thing you can do for your carbs.
Thank you for your help good Sir, my '04 ninja 250 is having the same issues, although not so bad. I'll get to pulling her apart now that I know what's wrong, thanks for the video!!
I don't know a lot about bikes but my car was also idling badly jumping from 850rpm which is the idle for this car down to 700 and back up i put a tank full of Premium in it , and when the engine warmed up i went straight to the highway , drove around it at 80 mph for 45 mins , came back home , it ran just perfectly.
Almost every Ninja 250 has the same rusty bolts problem, no matter the storage conditions. This was a failing on Kawasaki for not using anodized bolts. Most people replace them at the first sign of rust, which usually comes on within 6 months of riding from brand new.
+kidego3kgt I don't agree, mines garage kept it's bolts are black, those rusty bolts are the first thing someone looks at when buying these and looking to see if it's garage kept or not.
+Chris Markos I agree. It was the first thing i looked at to see if the bike was truly garage kept as the PO had told me. but yes the bolts will rust fast if it is left exposed to the rain, even a simple heavy duty motorcycle cover would stop the bolts from rusting.
Note to viewers: Don’t put seafoam in it for winter storage only Stabil, and you only need stabil if you’re running any gas other than premium ( which you shouldn’t be anyway on a carbureted engine). Make sure to start running premium in the last month of the riding season before you put it away for storage to get out all the ethanol gas (if you’re the type of asshole to run ethanol in a carbureted engine) Before storage top off the gas, leaving no space for water/air to get in. Remove the battery, and then you’re good. Then, after storage run seafoam or your carb cleaner of choice through it for the first month to clean the carb. Adjust the valves every 20kish miles, and keep up with the basic maintenance, and you’ll have a bike like mine with 74k miles XD
Use a half tank of premium gas and a bottle of seafoam. It might take a few tries, on/off until it starts to run proper but new gas and seafoam does the job. Also adjust the idle and choke a few times until its smooth. I forgot to mention, throttle hard a few times so the seafoam can kick in. You'll see a lot of smoke coming out of the muffler at this point. Nevertheless, change the coolant, engine oil, oil filter, brake fluids, air filter, and wipe the bike down from dust, smudges, dirt and rust with a brush and microfiber cloth. Enjoy!
My Kawi dealer uses sea foam in there bikes. In this case I believe that he ran ethanol through the bike. NO ETHANOL what so ever in a carb! That is a rule.
adithmart I see a lot of people saying "no ethanol" and most people know that it's not good on the aluminum and brass in carbs, or heck even the aluminum in car intakes and heads... but I have never seen a pump that did not advertise up to 10% ethanol. Where are we supposed to get blends without 10% ethanol? At the race track? Besides being really inconvenient hat's not road legal because there is no tax. Also every vehicle designed in the last 25 years or so are supposed to be compatible. The problem is letting it sit and get varnished. You would have the same problem letting it sit in old leaded gas. I have seen it time and again.
***** I would try draining the carbs by putting a small hose (preferably a clear one) on the drain and running it to a bucket or tub. Then gently open the drain screw being careful not to strip it. Repeat on the other side. Be careful not leave it open indefinitely, just for a minute or so, or you can drain the whole tank like that!!! Sometime that's good enough to free up some junk/gunk at the bottom of the carb or you may have some condensation or other water that found its way into the bowl. Or even just the gasoline in the bowl is bad and the vapors already evaporated. Anyway when I fill up I put a little bit of gumout with every other tank to keep the varnish out. seafoam is okay but I've had best luck with gumout the carb one in the clear bottle, with the white label with red font on it. On cars I like seafoam, but it just seems to mess up the mixture too much on carbed stuff. IMHO. Good luck!
Oh also you probably know about the prime setting on the fuel petcock right? make sure to prime it if its been sitting for a while like that (some, weeks, months, etc...). Also, the carbs work on gravity so they will work better on a full tank than a lower fuel level. Lastly if it runs with the fuel door open, but not closed, your tank vent is clogged with some kind of debris. Good luck. Be sure to write back to help someone else out if you figure it out.
+ssdwellah Hey trevor sorry man, I lost all the context. When you said "same bike" I assume I mentioned I had a '07 GS 500F. I look back at all the comments now and realize I didn't say that. Hopefully all the concepts are the same and you figure it out.
mine was sitting 5years outside fuel in tank Non ethanol fuel with draining tank and new hitest gas starting fluid and new battery i got it to run but only on choke after awhile she caught on but stalled then Put Gumout in tank Double dose and i could drive it around neiborhood then out on the open Road i guess im good to go ??
Yup my 94 ex500 did that to me then ran on one cylinder and ldled super low rpm to the point where i could count the rpm by sound and then i turned it off and left me stranded on the side of the road
Haven't seen that enough to know the exact cause, but I'd be curious to find out whenever you clean it whether it's just a clogged jet(s) and/or water in the bowl(s). Your best bet for storing it for that long is cutting the fuel off, draining the bowls, and letting it burn up what's left in the system.
I had symptoms similar to this, and I was about to pull apart the carbs for cleaning. But, I searched online and countless people recommended running "SeaFoam" through the bike before taking out the carbs. I swear by the stuff now. I put half of a can in the gas tank, let it idle for about 15minutes, but noticed no improvement. Then I let it sit overnight, and the next morning it was rideable! Although if I opened the throttle too much at low rpms it would die.
yea ive got the stock bar's, thats what i feel like, legs are a bit cramped,but everything else is ok. just need;s carbs done. need right brake pedal,and decals decals were gone, flasher's on back dont light except on directional's, ohhh and need the under bar rubber mount's.
My 250R had eletronic fuel injection, no choke and also no fuel level gauge, had a temp level gauge instead. I think I was very lucky for not choosing a bike with carburetors.
Hi Guy do you feel like the footpegs are too high on your nighthawk,and squeezing your legs together on the bike? my legs are splayed out at the back of tank plus squeezed together,and feel like im on too wide a saddle on a horse. another thing is that i can feel tension in my shoulders and back. when im out riding it, I hope i didnt make the wrong decison and get a bike thats wrong for me?
@starhobo14 Clean them up well with a wire brush and put grease in the head of the bolt and around the head in the counterbore. They will definitely not rust then.
Some may not know...Never use Ethanol fuels. Ethanol fuel will eat away at the rubber components in the carb. Ethanol fuel also has less energy density than strait gas. Did you use Ethanol?
Thumbs up. People are suggesting to use seafoam which contains ethanol, which is ethyl alcohol. Your owners manual probably warns against using alcohol because it eats away at the plastic parts inside making things worse. USE RTC ENGINE CLEANER It is the product seafoam copied It is more effective for fuel stabilization, cleaning, and contains no alcohol
I'm on my phone and I've been trying to read through forums and comments, but what exactly is the next step? Should I go and outright clean the carbs or should I try something to mix with the gas to help loosen the junk up. Sorry, I'm a girl and this is my first bike so I'm not sure what to do!
My ninja will start no problem but then will shut off when you give it any gas. There's a very short clip of it on my page but would you think that that is a carb problem as well?
hey! i have a 250 ninja 2010 model its been crashed a few times but fixed now when its cold out the bike has serious troubles starting would that be a crb problem? if so what could it mean and how can i fix this?
My Nighhawk 750 does the same thing at idle, cut's out,stall's, then revving it slow is rough like 3 cylinders not four like normal. thought about using seafoam in tank and carb's, runs like low speed jets are dirty.
Okay so If my 250 is running just like this and I use this seafoam will i be able to run the choke were it needs to be after? It seems like one of them to good to be true things so I need to know lol.
I have let my bike sit for 10 months and I didn't winterize at all :(. I charged my battery and it wont turn over. It's just shy of starting, but it won't start. Any suggestions? I am not very mechanical, but i'm a quick learner!
can I empty the tank then put some sea foam in it with half a tank of gas? A friend suggested that. He said to let it sit for a day then start it up and let the sea foam run out. Would this be okay?
No it would not be ok, Using those types of fuel additives will eat away at the rubber components in your carb and thus create more problems. Best solution, drain float bowls on carb and all the gas in the tank. Clean tank if there is rust. If no rust then bad gas could still be an issue. Fill it up and see what happens. If no change after running for a while then take your carbs apart and remove all rubber components and floats. Then clean all circuits and jets with carb cleaner and compressed air. That will definitely fix your problem.
Do not use seafoam! Seafoam is a dangerous copy of RTC engine cleaner! Seafoam contains alcohol to evaporate any water that may be in your system, RTC does not use alcohol and is more effective for cold storage and cleaning! Many bikes manuals INCLUDING Ninja 250 specifically warn against using alcohol.
But after about an hour of riding, I could WOT it, but with slight sluggishness. After a couple of gastanks of SeaFoam, it ran like new =D. So seriously, pick up some SeaFoam and try that with a fresh tank of gas.
Cant let it sit up without draining the gas tank . itll happemd everytime. Im goimg to get 1 for 200 tomm its a parts bike that runs ya kmow . so it aomt worth $ habe to run frm the cops or theyll take it . but for 200 ill get my $ worth even if i habe it for 2weeks lpl
This is incredibly helpful for people like myself, who are shopping used.
This happened to my ninja a month or two ago after i took the carb apart and put it back together and after installation, any throttle it would take forever for the rpms to chill. I had a vacuum leak, took it apart and re put it back together and no more vacuum leak and rpms went like they're supposed to. I definitely had a gap and something wasn't properly fitted, most likely the air filter side where the carb connects. Make sure your air box and carb doesnt move around or have any wiggle space!
thanks for the video mate, helped me figure out a bit of whats going on with my bike
Starting a sitting while bike tips. Charge battery. Drain carburetor float bowls. Drain remaining fuel tank if no stabilizer was used. And properly clean tank, by removing tank and washing out with fresh gasoline. ... if you suspect your gas is dirty. Running your bike and trying to let bad gas work. Is worst thing you can do for your carbs.
Thank you for your help good Sir, my '04 ninja 250 is having the same issues, although not so bad. I'll get to pulling her apart now that I know what's wrong, thanks for the video!!
You ever do it? Just got my cleaned carb back in and it’s still being a bitch
I don't know a lot about bikes but my car was also idling badly jumping from 850rpm which is the idle for this car down to 700 and back up i put a tank full of Premium in it , and when the engine warmed up i went straight to the highway , drove around it at 80 mph for 45 mins , came back home , it ran just perfectly.
Sounds like my bike problem also. Thanks for the info.
@KASTAS155 Yes. Shortly after this video, I pulled the carb and gave it a good cleaning. It runs beautifully.
Rusty hex heads? I spray key areas with molybdenum grease. No problems yet and it is an '08.
I never add anything to the tank, just make sure it's full before I put it away. I also try to get out and start it once in a while.
had a problem like this just added some carb cleaner or injector cleaner to gas and ran it for a while and worked after that
Would adding that to my bike do anything bad? I've thought about it but was just a curious before I do it
It's a good temporary fix in a pinch
Look at those rusty handlebar bolts, someone left that bike outside without a cover for a long time.
Almost every Ninja 250 has the same rusty bolts problem, no matter the storage conditions. This was a failing on Kawasaki for not using anodized bolts. Most people replace them at the first sign of rust, which usually comes on within 6 months of riding from brand new.
+kidego3kgt I don't agree, mines garage kept it's bolts are black, those rusty bolts are the first thing someone looks at when buying these and looking to see if it's garage kept or not.
I guess it's a good thing the bike guy who bought this bike forgot his priorities then.
+Chris Markos I agree. It was the first thing i looked at to see if the bike was truly garage kept as the PO had told me. but yes the bolts will rust fast if it is left exposed to the rain, even a simple heavy duty motorcycle cover would stop the bolts from rusting.
my bolts on 2008 not rusted, your bike was left out to rot
Note to viewers: Don’t put seafoam in it for winter storage only Stabil, and you only need stabil if you’re running any gas other than premium ( which you shouldn’t be anyway on a carbureted engine).
Make sure to start running premium in the last month of the riding season before you put it away for storage to get out all the ethanol gas (if you’re the type of asshole to run ethanol in a carbureted engine)
Before storage top off the gas, leaving no space for water/air to get in.
Remove the battery, and then you’re good.
Then, after storage run seafoam or your carb cleaner of choice through it for the first month to clean the carb.
Adjust the valves every 20kish miles, and keep up with the basic maintenance, and you’ll have a bike like mine with 74k miles XD
Use a half tank of premium gas and a bottle of seafoam. It might take a few tries, on/off until it starts to run proper but new gas and seafoam does the job. Also adjust the idle and choke a few times until its smooth. I forgot to mention, throttle hard a few times so the seafoam can kick in. You'll see a lot of smoke coming out of the muffler at this point.
Nevertheless, change the coolant, engine oil, oil filter, brake fluids, air filter, and wipe the bike down from dust, smudges, dirt and rust with a brush and microfiber cloth.
Enjoy!
My Kawi dealer uses sea foam in there bikes. In this case I believe that he ran ethanol through the bike. NO ETHANOL what so ever in a carb! That is a rule.
adithmart I see a lot of people saying "no ethanol" and most people know that it's not good on the aluminum and brass in carbs, or heck even the aluminum in car intakes and heads... but I have never seen a pump that did not advertise up to 10% ethanol. Where are we supposed to get blends without 10% ethanol? At the race track? Besides being really inconvenient hat's not road legal because there is no tax. Also every vehicle designed in the last 25 years or so are supposed to be compatible. The problem is letting it sit and get varnished. You would have the same problem letting it sit in old leaded gas. I have seen it time and again.
***** I would try draining the carbs by putting a small hose (preferably a clear one) on the drain and running it to a bucket or tub. Then gently open the drain screw being careful not to strip it. Repeat on the other side.
Be careful not leave it open indefinitely, just for a minute or so, or you can drain the whole tank like that!!!
Sometime that's good enough to free up some junk/gunk at the bottom of the carb or you may have some condensation or other water that found its way into the bowl. Or even just the gasoline in the bowl is bad and the vapors already evaporated. Anyway when I fill up I put a little bit of gumout with every other tank to keep the varnish out. seafoam is okay but I've had best luck with gumout the carb one in the clear bottle, with the white label with red font on it. On cars I like seafoam, but it just seems to mess up the mixture too much on carbed stuff. IMHO. Good luck!
Oh also you probably know about the prime setting on the fuel petcock right? make sure to prime it if its been sitting for a while like that (some, weeks, months, etc...). Also, the carbs work on gravity so they will work better on a full tank than a lower fuel level. Lastly if it runs with the fuel door open, but not closed, your tank vent is clogged with some kind of debris. Good luck. Be sure to write back to help someone else out if you figure it out.
+ssdwellah Hey trevor sorry man, I lost all the context. When you said "same bike" I assume I mentioned I had a '07 GS 500F. I look back at all the comments now and realize I didn't say that. Hopefully all the concepts are the same and you figure it out.
mine was sitting 5years outside fuel in tank Non ethanol fuel with draining tank and new hitest gas starting fluid and new battery i got it to run but only on choke after awhile she caught on but stalled then Put Gumout in tank Double dose and i could drive it around neiborhood then out on the open Road i guess im good to go ??
Yup my 94 ex500 did that to me then ran on one cylinder and ldled super low rpm to the point where i could count the rpm by sound and then i turned it off and left me stranded on the side of the road
Haven't seen that enough to know the exact cause, but I'd be curious to find out whenever you clean it whether it's just a clogged jet(s) and/or water in the bowl(s).
Your best bet for storing it for that long is cutting the fuel off, draining the bowls, and letting it burn up what's left in the system.
I had symptoms similar to this, and I was about to pull apart the carbs for cleaning.
But, I searched online and countless people recommended running "SeaFoam" through the bike before taking out the carbs.
I swear by the stuff now. I put half of a can in the gas tank, let it idle for about 15minutes, but noticed no improvement. Then I let it sit overnight, and the next morning it was rideable! Although if I opened the throttle too much at low rpms it would die.
@starhobo14 That's exactly right. The only way to fix them completely is to replace them with stainless or nickle plated steel bolts.
yea ive got the stock bar's,
thats what i feel like, legs are a bit cramped,but everything else is ok. just need;s carbs done. need right brake pedal,and decals
decals were gone,
flasher's on back dont light except on directional's,
ohhh and need the under bar rubber mount's.
@91ibanez It's the sound of sadness and despair.
@chairman Nope. You should still winterize it with Stabil if it's not going to be ridden for a couple of months though.
My 250R had eletronic fuel injection, no choke and also no fuel level gauge, had a temp level gauge instead. I think I was very lucky for not choosing a bike with carburetors.
You just wait until the maintenence comes up for that haha
check your idle, clean your carbs, and get the carbs syncronized with a manometer
@kidego3kgt i actually think B-12 is even a bit stronger than seafoam, but ya theyre both pretty much the same, strong stuff!
Hi Guy do you feel like the footpegs are too high on your nighthawk,and squeezing your legs together on the bike?
my legs are splayed out at the back of tank plus squeezed together,and feel like im on too wide a saddle on a horse.
another thing is that i can feel tension in my shoulders and back. when im out riding it,
I hope i didnt make the wrong decison and get a bike thats wrong for me?
@starhobo14 Clean them up well with a wire brush and put grease in the head of the bolt and around the head in the counterbore. They will definitely not rust then.
sticky needles... these are constant velocity carbs.
my 2012 just did this exact same thing after it was running fine last week,think I got some bad gas now have to tear down and clean the carburetors.
Some may not know...Never use Ethanol fuels. Ethanol fuel will eat away at the rubber components in the carb. Ethanol fuel also has less energy density than strait gas. Did you use Ethanol?
Thumbs up.
People are suggesting to use seafoam which contains ethanol, which is ethyl alcohol.
Your owners manual probably warns against using alcohol because it eats away at the plastic parts inside making things worse.
USE RTC ENGINE CLEANER
It is the product seafoam copied
It is more effective for fuel stabilization, cleaning, and contains no alcohol
I'm on my phone and I've been trying to read through forums and comments, but what exactly is the next step? Should I go and outright clean the carbs or should I try something to mix with the gas to help loosen the junk up. Sorry, I'm a girl and this is my first bike so I'm not sure what to do!
Oh man I really hope you replaced those rusty screws
You ever heard of marvel mystery oil? Never have dirty carbs again.
weather is getting cold in So Cal, and i have the exact same problem, it hesitates to start.
For a little bit dirty seafoam works but its no miracle worker. If yours is like this id pull it and clean it the proper way
My ninja will start no problem but then will shut off when you give it any gas. There's a very short clip of it on my page but would you think that that is a carb problem as well?
hey! i have a 250 ninja 2010 model its been crashed a few times but fixed now when its cold out the bike has serious troubles starting would that be a crb problem? if so what could it mean and how can i fix this?
My Nighhawk 750 does the same thing at idle,
cut's out,stall's, then revving it slow is rough
like 3 cylinders not four like normal.
thought about using seafoam in tank and carb's,
runs like low speed jets are dirty.
Okay so If my 250 is running just like this and I use this seafoam will i be able to run the choke were it needs to be after? It seems like one of them to good to be true things so I need to know lol.
you can try seafoam. Make sure you dont over do it. Also change the plugs after a couple of tanks
Ah, rusty bolt heads. Mine is an 08 and for the life of me all I can do is make it harder for them to rust. Seems like an oem flaw.
I have a 2011 Nina 250. can you explain why it makes a quick hummy while it's shut off? hasn't been ran it a week.
thats air coming out from gas tank, perfectly normal..
WJAT HEPPEND IF ITS FUEL INJECT AND GIT THE SAME PROBLEM DOE IT MEAN THE FUEL INJECTOR ARE DIRTY
night hawlk i just got sounds like that. studders and irregular throttle even when i don;t mess with it.
I have let my bike sit for 10 months and I didn't winterize at all :(. I charged my battery and it wont turn over. It's just shy of starting, but it won't start. Any suggestions? I am not very mechanical, but i'm a quick learner!
clean the carbs! and change the oil
can I empty the tank then put some sea foam in it with half a tank of gas? A friend suggested that. He said to let it sit for a day then start it up and let the sea foam run out. Would this be okay?
yea i think so im going to try that to b/c im in that same situation except mine starts up but only if im holding the throttle...
No it would not be ok, Using those types of fuel additives will eat away at the rubber components in your carb and thus create more problems. Best solution, drain float bowls on carb and all the gas in the tank. Clean tank if there is rust. If no rust then bad gas could still be an issue. Fill it up and see what happens. If no change after running for a while then take your carbs apart and remove all rubber components and floats. Then clean all circuits and jets with carb cleaner and compressed air. That will definitely fix your problem.
Do not use seafoam!
Seafoam is a dangerous copy of RTC engine cleaner!
Seafoam contains alcohol to evaporate any water that may be in your system, RTC does not use alcohol and is more effective for cold storage and cleaning!
Many bikes manuals INCLUDING Ninja 250 specifically warn against using alcohol.
I think mine is super dirty because it just dies on it’s own in neutral
Turn off ur high beam
same problem like this. But my carburetor is clean. Any reason. Please help
he can suck air from crack intak manifold... or in someting else
My 250r is the fuel injection version - do I need to worry about any of this?
rgaufman hell nah lol
Depending on the miles and the revs that you use...check your valve clearances. NEVER USE ANY BLEND OF ETHANOL IN A CARB!
Absolutely correct!
This is why I cringe anytime I read somebody suggest seafoam which contains alcohol.
Yeah, B-12 is the same thing as Seafoam.
But after about an hour of riding, I could WOT it, but with slight sluggishness.
After a couple of gastanks of SeaFoam, it ran like new =D.
So seriously, pick up some SeaFoam and try that with a fresh tank of gas.
Lean surge - Vacuum leak
when i dont ride my 250 for a while and turn it on, it sometimes backfires in the mufflers
Yup
That's common
you are right! my bike runs perfect thanks to you ALEX BERrY
My bike does'nt start in choke.
Ya..sound like not enough stimulation.
My cbr 125 was doing this for a while when I first bought it (used), after riding it regularly it doesn't do this anymore, strange. ;o
Cant let it sit up without draining the gas tank . itll happemd everytime. Im goimg to get 1 for 200 tomm its a parts bike that runs ya kmow . so it aomt worth $ habe to run frm the cops or theyll take it . but for 200 ill get my $ worth even if i habe it for 2weeks lpl
@6560441 That's actually very hard on the engine.
@kidego3kgt i would also say thats insane to do to any bike. and quite frankily is likely the lazy mans way of doing things.
I don't have one. I have four.
yes..you still have carbs..
When you trade that cvk30 for fuel injection ☺️
ur problem is the carbutertor floting u have to make the level
My problem was exactly as described in the video. It was dirty.
Your main jets plugged, put some Seafoam in that bitch and rev the shit out of it!!
how to do it? my 06 gpx 250 has the exactly same problem.
@jlo582 Clean them.
i lold:))